“It’s a proposal that the state feels addresses the issues raised in the DOJ report,” Herrero said, referring to a December report by the federal agency that said the institutions fail to protect residents from harm.

The Texas Senate just a few minutes ago approved a resolution ratifying a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over abuse allegations at state schools.

The vote on Senate Concurrent Resolution was 31-0.

Calling the confirmed cases of past abuse “unexcusable,” state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said the settlement and accompanying reforms will ensure that conditions at state schools for the developmentally disabled will never revert.

The Senate earlier in the day approved $48.1 million for reforms to curb any future abuses of state school residents.